


Another Perfect Day

by emmerrr



Series: Take The Long Way Home [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, SMH reunion and hijinks, a lot of it, dex and nursey are happy, if you find one it's purely coincidental, just wanted to throw that out there, no plot to speak of really, oh yeah and the other ships are minor, they have a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 10:47:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10216316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: Nursey and Dex are finally starting their happily ever after in a brand new house in the suburbs.Any excuse for a SMH reunion party.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you read 'Now and Then' (part 1) and just wanted Nursey and Dex to be happy again, then this is for you. And it's also for me, because I had a MIGHTY NEED.
> 
> I guess you don't technically need to read the first part to get any enjoyment out of this, but it will probably give you better context if you do. Plus it will soothe your wounds.

Derek slowly blinked awake to sun streaming through the crack in the curtains, birds singing outside, and the warm weight of Will’s arm draped over his waist. Derek allowed himself a moment to just lie there and smile and feel content that this was his life, and then he carefully — _so_ carefully — untangled himself from Will. Once he’d edged himself out of bed and got to his feet, Will rolled over to the side Derek had just vacated, unconsciously seeking the warmth. As Derek quietly got dressed he thought for a moment that Will would wake up, but his breathing evened out again and Derek tiptoed from the room.

On the landing he intercepted their cat, Crash, who was making a beeline for the bedroom, but he scooped him up and carried him downstairs. Crash wiggled in his arms, obviously wanting to go and jump into bed with Will.

“Leave him alone, he’s sleeping,” Derek said. “And besides, he doesn’t love you as much as I do, why do you like him better than me?”

Crash just yowled, and when Derek got to the kitchen he put the cat down and filled his bowl with food. The cat had been Derek’s idea; Will had never been as bothered, being more of a dog person. But when they were still living in separate high-rise apartments in the centre of New York City, a dog hadn’t really been an option; not enough space. So Derek had gone down to the shelter and picked up Crash, a skinny little tortoiseshell with a chunk of his left ear missing. Will had come over after work, taken one look at the sorry looking cat in Derek’s arms and sighed. “Okay,” he had said. “But when we move out of the city and into a proper house, we’re getting a dog.” And Derek had smiled, because it sounded like a promise.

After Will had come back to New York and he and Derek tentatively restarted their relationship again, they had talked about Will moving back into the apartment they had once shared, but in the end Will just hadn’t wanted to. They had broken up in that apartment, and even though Derek pointed out that they had also got back together there, Will just couldn’t get past it. “It would feel like taking a step backwards,” he insisted. “I don’t want to do that with you. When we live together again, and we _will_ , I want it to represent something new.”

Derek just hadn’t been able to argue with that sentiment. Besides, they lived nearby enough that they still rarely spent a night apart, so Derek had been happy to wait again because he knew the pay-off would be that much sweeter.

And now, two and half years after Will’s return from London, Derek was standing in the kitchen of the brand new house on the outskirts of the city that he and Will had bought together. It had a garden, and a garage, and four bedrooms, one of which was serving as a shared office for Derek and Will. It was more space than they currently needed, but it was an investment for their future, and it had been a long time coming.

The last of the boxes had been unpacked as of yesterday. It had taken a couple of weeks, made more difficult by the fact that Will had had to go on a business trip — unfortunate timing which couldn’t be helped — but he was _back_ now, and from now on would be working from home half the time. Derek couldn’t believe his luck; house in the suburbs, a cat, the promise of a dog, and more time with Will. It felt like a dream.

Derek put on a pot of coffee and then rummaged through the contents of the fridge as he waited. They’d need to go grocery shopping for supplies, not to mention a beer run. They were having a housewarming today. Well, technically, it was a Samwell Hockey reunion, but as Derek and Will had just moved into a place with a lot of space, they had offered to host. Two birds, one stone, so to speak.

Derek was excited; they saw Shitty and Lardo pretty frequently, and caught up with everyone else as often as possible, but Chowder and Caitlin lived so far away that even though they spoke several times a week, it had been almost a year since they’d last seen them. Everyone that Derek really wanted to see was making the effort to come and it meant a lot. Even Whiskey was coming this time — the last time he’d made it to a get together had been Shitty and Lardo’s wedding. (Lardo had worn a suit, Shitty cried the whole way through. It was beautiful.)

The weather was gorgeous, so a barbecue was most definitely the plan. Everyone was bringing something, but Derek still wanted to make sure all the basics were covered. He idly hoped that Bitty would bring a pie or three.

When the coffee was ready, Derek poured a cup and sat at the kitchen table, Crash winding himself around Derek’s legs, meowing obnoxiously. Derek checked the time — 9.30am. People would start to arrive from about 2pm onwards, so Will needed to get up fairly soon if he and Derek wanted to be able to sort the place out and go shopping without having to rush. But Will had had a busy week, and Derek got it into his head that it would be nice to make him breakfast in bed, being ever the dutiful boyfriend.

Twenty minutes later, and Derek stood under the smoke alarm waving a dish-towel, trying to get it to stop blaring. The smell of burning filled the kitchen, and a moment later, Will slouched in through the door, hands over his ears.

“Derek, what the actual fuck are you doing?”

Derek froze, just as the alarm finally stopped ringing. “I, uh, was making you pancakes?”

Will crossed the kitchen and opened the windows as far as they would go, then went over to the oven, where a frying pan sat on the top, a perfectly round pancake burnt to a crisp inside.

“I only took my eye off it for a _second_ , I swear,” Derek said. Will turned around and arched an eyebrow. “Okay, so maybe it was a _little_ longer than a second.”

“Why were you even making me pancakes?”

“Because you _like_ pancakes. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed. But then you woke up.”

“Yeah, a smoke alarm going off will do that to a person,” Will said, rolling his eyes. But then he smiled the smile he often used for Derek, exasperatedly fond, and he reached for the bowl of pancake mixture that still sat on the counter-top. “How about I make _you_ pancakes instead?”

“Okay,” Derek grinned. “In what, though? I’m pretty sure I just ruined our only frying pan.”

Will picked up the pan and poked at the sorry remains of the blackened pancake, burnt into the surface of the pan. “Uh huh. How does cereal sound?”

“Cereal sounds _great_.”

“Remind me to get a new frying pan while we’re out.”

“Sorry, Dexy.”

“It’s okay. Just — no more cooking without supervision. I could really do without you a) hurting yourself, and b) burning our brand new house down.”

Derek crossed his arms and grumbled. “I am not a child.”

Will smiled and kissed his temple. “No. You’re just woefully inept—”

“ _Hey_!”

“—in the kitchen. You didn’t let me finish!”

***

They had been in the grocery store for almost an hour and Derek could tell that Will was about to reach his limit. After being woken up so abruptly by the smoke alarm going off, he was clearly starting to feel sleepy again. Derek didn’t mind, mainly because a sleepy Will was a clingy Will, and god damn it if that wasn’t just incredibly endearing.

Right now, Will’s hand was firmly in Derek’s own, his head on Derek’s shoulder, despite the fact that they were in the middle of the supermarket in the beer aisle on a Saturday morning. Will at nineteen would never have been this affectionate in public. But they were twenty-eight now, and they’d been through a lot to get to this point.

Derek nuzzled his cheek against Will’s head for a second, and Will sighed. “Can we go now? I need a nap,” he said.

“In a minute. How much booze do you reckon the others will bring anyway?”

Will snorted. “Between Shitty, Ransom and Holster, I’d say there’s bound to be a pretty decent haul.”

“That is a very good point.”

They finished up at the store and Derek drove them back. He’d finally taken his driver’s test a couple of months earlier, and he didn’t think Will had ever been prouder, telling anyone who’d listen that he’d taught Derek everything he knew.

Will slept in the car on the way home, and after he’d helped unload all the shopping, Derek banished him to the living room to take a nap, and then Derek got started making the house ready for guests. Not a whole lot needed doing, really — they hadn’t lived there long enough to make too much of a mess yet, so Derek just made sure that the bedding in the guest rooms was clean, and he hunted down a couple of airbeds. A lot of people were going to end up camped out in the living room, so Derek wanted it to be as comfortable as possible for them.

He dragged the airbeds along with a pump into the living room to put them to one side until they were needed, but stopped short when he spotted Will on the sofa lying on his side, Crash curled up in his arms, right next to Will’s chest.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Derek whispered, and took out his phone to take a picture.

Will woke up when he heard the click, and his eyes went straight to Derek’s phone, and then to Crash in front of him.

“I _knew_ you loved him really,” Derek said.

“Hey, I was here first. The little asshole just jumped up here and he’s warm, so I let him stay.”

“Sure.”

Will yawned and sat up. “What time is it?”

“It’s like, one, almost. I’m gonna go have a shower.”

“Okay. Do you need me to do anything?”

Derek shrugged. “It’s pretty much all done.”

Will smiled. “Then I’m gonna join you,” he said.

***

Chowder and Caitlin, ever punctual, arrived at 2pm on the dot, Tango and Whiskey in tow. Derek led Caitlin and Chowder up to one of the guest rooms. “You two are in here. The others will have to duke it out over the other room, that should be fun.”

“How much do you wanna bet Ransom and Holster win that battle?” said Chowder.

“I dunno, man, Bitty can get pretty vicious, I wouldn’t wanna cross him.”

“Ha. True,” Caitlin said. “Thanks for letting us have this one without having to do battle for it.”

Derek smiled; Caitlin was five months pregnant. “I mean, you _can_ if you want. I just figured making you sleep on an airbed was kind of a dick move.”

Caitlin nodded solemnly. “Appreciate it.”

Derek let them put down their stuff and then they followed him downstairs, where he led them into the living room. Whiskey was already in there, perusing the DVD collection, so Derek went to the kitchen to help Will sort out drinks.

Tango was in there asking Will question after question about the property market and mortgages and how long it had taken them to close the deal on their house, Will answering them with an easy patience that had come with age. The cat-flap opening in the kitchen door distracted Tango and he knelt down in front of Crash, who had come to investigate the newcomers.

“Aw, cute cat!” he said. “What’s his name?”

“Tango,” Will deadpanned, and Derek nearly choked on a laugh, managing to turn it into a cough instead.

Tango put a hand to his chest, touched. “You named your cat after me?”

“Yes,” Will said.

“ _Bro_ ,” he said, and then Will shooed him out of the kitchen, telling him they’d bring the drinks out in a minute.

“I bet you think that was really funny,” Derek said when Tango was gone.

Will grinned. “I do actually.”

The others slowly arrived over the next hour or so, and eventually the party migrated outside and Will started to heat up the barbecue.

“Out of the way, Dex, Rans and I will take it from here,” Holster said, and he and Ransom set up camp by the barbecue, shortly joined by Jack. Will relinquished control without a fuss and retreated to the kitchen with Bitty so the two of them could put all the other food together.

Derek busied himself setting up the music system, Lardo keeping him company.

“Dude, this place is _incredible_ ,” she said. “Like, next level ‘swawesome.”

Derek grinned; it had been a while since he had heard someone say _‘swawesome_ and he was hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia. Other than the change in location, this may as well have been a Samwell Hausparty. Derek missed those days, but he wouldn’t trade them for what he had now.

A little ways away, Tango was talking to Shitty and Whiskey.

“And have you seen their cat yet? They named him Tango. After me!”

Shitty burst out laughing. “Who the fuck told you that?”

“Dex did.”

“Dude,” said Whiskey. “He was fucking with you.”

“Yeah, man. Cat’s called Crash. He’s definitely fucking with you,” Shitty said.

“But—” Tango started, and then turned his head and locked eyes with Derek, who gave an exaggerated apologetic shrug. Tango’s face turned to thunder. “DEX!” he shouted and stomped off to the kitchen to find him.

“Oh, man,” Lardo said. “Taddies, am I right?”

“You said it, Lards. Chirping Tango is even more fun than chirping Chowder, I swear to god.”

“What?” Chowder yelled from across the garden, hearing his name.

“I was just talking about how much I love you,” Derek said.

“Oh,” Chowder said, and smiled. “I love you too, bro.”

Derek finally plugged in the last speaker and the music cut on, and a bunch of delighted cheers went up throughout the garden. “Here, Lards,” Derek said. “You play DJ for a bit, I’m gonna go check on the food situation.”

Back in the kitchen, Will and Bitty had operations down to a well oiled machine. There were salads and chips and salsa on the table and something that smelled really good in the oven.

“Bitty made a quiche,” Will said when he saw Derek looking.

“Bits, you literal angel,” Derek said and Bitty gave a self-satisfied smile.

“All in a day’s work,” he said. “I’ll start taking stuff outside.” Bitty disappeared out back with a bowl of salad in each hand.

“Okay, we’ll get all these outside, make sure everyone has a beer, then I’ll thank everyone for coming and then we can start eating. Sound good?”

“Yup,” Will said. “But no sappy speeches, right?”

“C’mon, Will, what do you take me for?” Derek said with a smirk, and kissed Will on the cheek.

“Foooooiiiiiineeee!” Holster sang out, stepping into the kitchen.

“Holtzy, this is our house, you can’t fine us here,” Will said.

“Sorry, bros, old habits. Anyway, barbecue’s nice and hot, bring us some MEAT.”

“Coming right up.”

* * *

 

It took a while to get all the food outside and everybody settled. There were chairs strewn around the outdoor table on the patio, and Ransom and Holster were still over by the barbecue, arguing over the best meat cooking techniques. Will stayed out of the way; he really didn’t want to get involved. Instead, he hurried around making sure everyone had drinks.

“Sit _down_ , Bitty, you’re a guest, not the host, you’re making me feel bad, you’ve already helped enough,” Will said, ushering Bitty to a chair over by Jack.

“Sorry, Dex, it’s instinctive to play the host when I have y’all in the same place again. Feels like we’re back in my kitchen at the Haus.”

Finally, everybody was accounted for, relatively happy, and the meat was nearly done cooking. Will watched as Derek stood up.

“Okay, food’ll be ready in a minute and then you can all eat, but before I get too drunk to remember, I just want to thank everyone on behalf of Will and myself for making the effort to be here. It’s been too long since we all got together like this and it means a lot that you made the effort, you guys are the best teammates and the best friends ever, and we love you.”

Everyone cheered, and Shitty wiped away an imaginary tear. “Fucking beautiful, bro.”

Then Derek smiled and looked at Will, who tensed up immediately.

“And since I already have everyone’s attention and there’s nothing Will can do to stop me, I do have one more slightly personal thing to say,” he continued.

“Derek, you said _no_ sappy speeches,” Will whined.

“No, _you_ said no sappy speeches. _I_ said no such thing.”

Will put his face in his hands and peered through the gaps in his fingers.

“As well as a Samwell reunion, this get together is doubling as a housewarming which makes it extra special for Will and me. You guys know us, so you know how long it took us to get to this point, and even though it seems like we took the long way round to get here, I wouldn’t change anything in our journey, because I think it was always leading _here_ , to this beautiful house, with all of you here to share _this_ moment with us.”

Derek turned to Will now, who had dropped his hands and was staring up at Derek with watery eyes. “So, Will,” he said, “Light of my life, my sunshine, my stars, my love. Thank you, for doing life with me. There’s no one else I’d rather share it with.”

“Oh my god,” Shitty sobbed. “Dex, if you don’t kiss him, I _will_.”

“Seriously,” choked out Chowder, wiping his own eyes.

Will caught Derek’s hand and tugged him onto his lap, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him, to the delighted cheers of all their friends.

“Okay, you can all get some food now,” Will said around Derek, and as everyone bustled into activity, Will returned his attention to Derek while everyone else was distracted. “I love you, you unbelievably sentimental _dork_.” He buried his face in Derek’s neck. His ears were pink; he could feel it.

“Aw, Dexy, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Derek said.

“You didn’t. That was the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever heard and I can’t look at you right now. Give me a minute.”

Derek laughed and ran his hand through Will’s hair.

“Are you sure we can’t fine them?” Will heard Ransom say. “I feel like this is a fine-able offense.”

“Let them have this, Rans. Dex is having a moment,” Holster said.

And he _was_. Hearing Derek say that he wouldn’t have changed anything meant a lot to Will because he knew about all the painful parts of their past too, because he had _lived_ them. He and Derek had long since moved past the heartache caused by Will’s departure to London, but it was still settling to have Derek stand up in front of their friends and say something like that. That all the pain, and the detours they had taken were worth it, because it was inevitable that in the end they’d get to somewhere _great_. And they had. Derek had always had faith in that; Will had just been a few steps behind. It didn’t matter, though, because the destination was the same.

Will pressed a kiss to Derek’s shoulder and leaned back. “Okay. Food time.”

***

A couple of hours later, and everyone (pregnant ladies and NHL players aside) was well on their way to getting thoroughly wasted.

“You know what we should do?” Will said.

“What?” Jack asked.

“We should have a piggy-back race re-match. Same teams as last time.”

Ransom and Holster shot up in unison. “ _Yes_ ,” Ransom said.

“Umm, Dex, is that the best idea?” Chowder asked.

“Yeah, bro, I won’t trip this time, don’t worry.”

“I don't remember this," Jack said with a frown.

“We elected not to tell you. Thought you'd put your captain hat on and get mad at us for risking injury.”

Jack looked affronted. “I'm not _that_ much of a stick in the mud. Although, this _does_ sound dangerous.”

Bitty patted his arm sympathetically. “You can be on my team if you want, honey.”

Derek shook his head adamantly. “Actually he can’t. No offense, Jack, but Bitty’s with _me_ , you’ll have to find someone else.”

“Jacques Laurent Zimmermann, you magnificent bastard, get your gigantic ass over here and let me mount you.”

“Shits. . .”

“Who’s gonna be on my team?”

“You can go with me, Lardo!” Tango piped up.

“I’ll stand at the finish line and judge who wins,” Whiskey said. “I’m trying to avoid broken bones.”

“And I’m gonna watch from the patio, far, _far_ out of the way,” Caitlin said.

“Good idea, babe,” Chowder said. “Remember last time?” He eyed Will warily.

“Yes,” Caitlin said with a fond smile. “Yes I do.”

They spent the next few minutes planning out a route and a finish line. It was essentially a straight line down the garden, but the alcohol in their systems meant everything took a little longer. The racers all lined up at the starter line and waited for Whiskey to start the race.

“You know, Lardo, when I said I would be on your team, I kinda thought _you_ could carry _me_ , but whatever.”

“Yeah, maybe next time, Tangs.”

“On your marks,” Whiskey called up. “Get set. . . _Go_!”

They all started forward and Will could already feel himself leaning to the left, unable to stop himself. Chowder felt heavier than he had in college. “Uh oh,” Will said, then promptly collided with Derek and Bitty and sent them all tumbling to the ground.

“William Poindexter, you _sabotaged_ us!” Bitty shrieked indignantly.

“It was an _accident_.”

“Dexy, I can’t believe you did this to me, I thought you loved me.”

“Hey, Dex, remember like five minutes ago when you said — and I quote — ‘I won’t trip this time’? Because I distinctly remember that.”

Jack and Shitty came out victorious, which probably had a lot to do with the fact that Jack had drank considerably less than everyone else and thus his co-ordination and motor skills were functioning at a much higher level. Ransom and Holster were already shouting for a re-match.

“Maybe tomorrow, boys,” Whiskey said, then squinted up at the sky. “We’ve just about lost the light.”

"Jack," Shitty said solemnly. "You are the noblest of steeds."

"Thanks, Shits."

They migrated inside after that, everyone pitching in to make sure all the crockery and bottles were brought in. The clean up could wait until the morning, but at least the garden wouldn’t be that much of a mess.

Derek re-set up the music system in the living room and asked if anyone had any requests.

“Do you have anything by Fleetwood Mac?” Jack asked.

“Honey, no,” Bitty said, shaking his head. “This is a party, not an oldies disco.”

“You know, Bits, sometimes your words, they hurt.”

“I got your back, bro, I totally have some Fleetwood Mac,” Derek said, then started to play _Go Your Own Way_.

“ _Thank_ you, Nursey,” Jack said, and turned a triumphant look on Bitty.

“Alright. But you better play Beyoncé next, is all I’m sayin’.”

Will leaned back in his armchair, nicely buzzed from his beer and content to listen to his friends chatter away, when he suddenly realised he hadn’t seen Crash in a few hours. He shot up straight.

“Hey, has anyone seen the dumb cat?”

Everyone shook their heads. “He’s probably gone upstairs to get away from the noise, don’t worry, Dexy,” Derek said.

Will frowned. “I’m gonna go check,” he said, and left the living room, peeking into the kitchen first just to make sure he wasn’t in there. He went upstairs, and sure enough, when he pushed the door to his and Derek’s bedroom open, he could make out a familiar lump on his side of the bed.

“ _There_ you are, you little bastard,” Will said, suddenly incredibly fond of Crash the rescue cat. He was _always_ fond, honestly, he just kept it hidden because it drove Derek crazy that Crash would always seek out Will for snuggles. It was so much funnier when Will acted indifferent.

Will scratched Crash behind the ears and then went back downstairs, bumping into Derek on his way to the kitchen.

“You find him?” Derek asked.

Will nodded. “He’s in our bed.”

Derek smiled. “Y’know, for a minute there, it almost seemed like you were worried.”

“Fuck off, I was not.”

“Chill, Poindexter. Your secret’s safe with me.”

***

Hours later, and everyone was winding down for the night. Derek was wasted, and had been clinging to Will’s arm for the last hour at least.

“Oh _lord_ ,” Bitty said. “Do we need to re-instate Nursey patrol?”

Will smiled. “It’s alright, Bits. I’ve got him.”

“S’alright, Bits. He’s got me,” Derek mumbled sleepily, and Bitty grinned.

“Yep, you’re in good hands.”

“The _best_ hands. I swear, the things he can do with these hands, Bitty—”

“Aaaaaand it’s time to get you to bed,” Will said, clapping a hand over Derek’s mouth and leading him away as Bitty valiantly fought off a laugh.

Will left Derek in their en-suite bathroom brushing his teeth and went downstairs to help some of the others blow up the airbeds and make sure there were enough blankets and pillows for everyone. Bitty and Jack had won the rights to the other guest room in an intense game of Mario Kart, so Will pointed them in the right direction. Caitlin had gone up to bed a while ago, and Chowder said his goodnights and went off to join her.

Once they were set up downstairs, Ransom started setting up for another Mario Kart tournament.

“You in, Dex?”

“Nah, I’m going to bed. You guys play as much as you want, but keep the noise down.”

“Will do.”

Will scanned the room; they were missing someone. “Where’s Shitty?”

Lardo smirked. “He’s cuddling with Zimmermann. Where _else_ would he be?”

Will rolled his eyes. “Of course he is, why did I even ask?”

Will wished the others goodnight and headed back upstairs, hesitating just outside of the room Bitty and Jack were occupying as he went past and heard voices carrying from inside.

“You’ve _changed_ , Jack. All I wanted was a cuddle with my best bro before I went to sleep. Bitty gets you every night, he can share, he doesn’t mind—”

“Alright, Shits, fine, but for crying out _loud_ , put your pants back on!”

***

Will woke up first the next morning. Derek, in his drunken state, was lying on his front, practically spread-eagle in the middle of the bed, leaving Will right on the edge, precariously close to falling out. He rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom, before pulling on some sweatpants and a hoodie. Will ran a hand softly down Derek’s back and received a grunt in response.

“How you feeling?”

“Not. . . great.”

“Poor baby,” Will said sympathetically. “I’m gonna make a mountain of breakfast. You think you can eat anything?”

“In a bit. Maybe.”

Will kissed Derek’s shoulder blade. “Okay. There’s water by the bed. I’ll come get you soon.”

“’Kay. Love you.”

Will chuckled softly. “Love you, too.”

In the kitchen, Bitty was already up and cleaning and singing _Halo_. Because of _course_ he was, this was Bitty.

“Aw, c’mon, Bits, you don’t have to do that,” Will said, and Bitty whirled around in surprise.

“Oh but I _do_. I can’t help myself, you know that.”

“Alright.” Will picked up a dish-towel and started to dry. “Thanks, Bitty.”

“No problem.”

“So, did Shitty stay in there with you and Jack all night?”

“Hah. No, bless him. He just stayed for a snuggle with Jack and then went back downstairs to Lardo.”

“Are they all still asleep in there?”

“I haven’t checked, but it’s pretty quiet so I reckon so. Chowder and Caitlin left for a walk around the block about ten minutes ago, so they’ll probably be back soon.”

“Cool. I’m gonna make breakfast, you feel like giving me a hand?”

Bitty smirked. “Thought you’d never ask,” he said.

It was so reminiscent of college, sharing a kitchen with Bitty, tidying it up and then starting to cook. It was like Hausgiving all over again, but with a lot less stress because it was breakfast food, which was considerably more difficult to fuck up.

Bitty started cooking up some bacon while Will got the eggs ready for scrambling, and they knew it wouldn’t take long for the smell of bacon cooking to wake up the rest of the house.

“Y’know, Dex, I’m really happy for you,” Bitty said, seemingly out of nowhere, and it took Will by surprise.

“You are?”

Bitty shrugged. “Yeah. I remember when I first found out about you and Nursey, when he fell asleep in the Haus and you woke him up _so_ gently and you were so. . . _soft_ with each other, in a way I’d never seen either of you act before. And I had a really good feeling about you two. I know it hasn’t always been easy, but look at you now?” Bitty smiled. “I was right.”

“I—” Will started, unsure what to say. “Thanks, Bitty. That means a lot.”

They finished cooking breakfast in relative silence, and soon enough, everyone else started migrating to the kitchen.

“Oh my god,” Ransom said. “Is that bacon? Holtzy, I smell bacon.”

“Of course there’s bacon, Justin, Bitty’s on the case.”

“Bitty, I love you.”

“Help yourselves, guys. I’m gonna go check on Derek. He’s feeling a little, uh, delicate this morning,” Will said.

Lardo snorted. “No shit. Nursey was wasted. Fuckin’ frogs.”

Will excused himself and crept back upstairs to their bedroom.

Derek had only moved enough to turn on his side, and Crash had wedged himself behind Derek’s neck.

“Hey, sunshine,” Will said. “Feeling any better?”

Derek shook his head sorrowfully. “I’m too old for hangovers,” he rasped. “I can’t handle them anymore.”

“You’re so pathetic right now, it’s adorable.”

Derek flipped him off and Will laughed.

“Do you need anything?”

Derek nodded. “Come here.”

Will smiled softly and gently crawled into the bed; Derek lifted his arm and Will fit himself underneath it, his head fitting nicely under Derek’s chin and Derek’s arm around his back, holding him close. “Just stay here for a little while,” Derek mumbled. “I’ll be alright in a minute. Just stay.”

Will snuggled closer. He could hear the jovial voices of his friends downstairs, he could hear his stupid cat purring, and he was on the most comfortable bed he had ever slept on in the arms of the boy he loved.

He was _home_.


End file.
